ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

The issue behind abstinence funded programs and sex education in general is the exclusion of certain topics pertaining to some students. Not every child will love the same, feel the same, or want to partake in heterosexual intercourse between cis-male and cis-female…

You know in high school when they give you those tests to find out what type of learner you are so they can “cater to different students”? Then you realize, it’s no wonder school is so difficult because none of the teachers actually make an effort to satisfy the different types of learning?

to have similar outcomes from the course when not everybody thinks the same way the material is taught.

Teaching a gay man how to take birth control instead of taking precautionary measures when exposed to HIV and AIDS, such as antivirals, seems like a waste of time.

Teaching a lesbian how to put a condom on a banana would be significantly less useful than advocating for dental dams between partners.

The issue behind abstinence funded programs and sex education in general, is the exclusion of topics pertaining to nonconforming students. Not every child will love the same, feel the same, or want to take part in heterosexual intercourse between cis-male and cis-female.

Call it LGBTQ, questioning, experimenting, or nonconforming- topics on these matters are just as important as the “regular” criteria.

As marriage equality has passed and gender neutrality laws have passed, wouldn’t it make sense to be teaching our children about these ways of life?

I interviewed a person from each high school in town: Normal Community West High School, Normal Community High School, Bloomington High School, University High School, and Central Catholic High School.

I have a lot of friends in the LGBT community, and asked them questions pertaining to how and if any sex ed was inclusive of the LGBT community in their schools.

In an interview with Chloe, an alum of Tri-Valley High School, I asked her to talk to me about her experience with sex education while also figuring out her sexuality.

Chloe: “I wasn’t taught anything. My school didn’t say a word about anything LGBT especially about sex because when I came out I was the only one in the whole school at that point. I was just attracted to girls and when another girl, my first girlfriend, came out it was hell. All my friends dropped me, I had friends and family t

elling me to kill myself, teachers came up to me saying, “this isn’t who you truly are”, and I had a teacher come up to me with a love note I wrote to their son when I was in 6th grade and said that was the real me and how I wanted to be with boys but I was just acting out. When teachers saw me kiss my girlfriend they would yell at me and I saw straight couples practically having sex in the hallway and teachers wouldn’t say a word. I didn’t have any experience or understanding of being gay, I just kinda went for it and turns out I’m super gay haha.”

A student in our local community was not only denied information regarding her sexual preferences, but harassed by teachers and faculty for expressing herself.

The perplexing issue of why LGBT sex education is not taught stands out in this generation because, in fact, we are the most open minded generation yet; accepting of multiple sexualities, alike or different.

From polls taken in recent years we are seeing a trend among parents and their wishes for sex education, turns out they are aligning with millennials!

We know the majority of parents are on board, now it’s time to use your opinion for the betterment of education!

You guys, the parents are ultimately the ones in power. Have you ever thought about that? It’s not the government, or the teachers, or the handbooks, it’s you. You put your children in school and in return give the school system profit and students. If you are unhappy with the way things are taught, it’s you who can speak out.

There is no reason all children shouldn’t be able to get the information they need regarding sex and there is absolutely no excuse for a child to get harassed based upon their sexual identity either.